Bring Back King
by Magico Latino
Summary: Deals with the devil hardly go well for anyone. But when you're dead and had issues being remotely human. The devil can be a persuasive salesman. Sent to a world where magic run rampant and fairy tales rule. Our man Jack has to live on with mysterious marks on his hands and access to some odd tower with some serious evil. There's only one way to see how this goes.


"I knew I was gonna die man." I looked at my body still being burned by the fire. I could see the collapsed roof crushing my remains. I turned to see the last of the children run out the door. Away from the inferno that was the hallway. I sighed and looked back at my body.

"Well, at least I helped those kids. Just wished I was able to stick around long enough to make sure they were okay." another sigh escaped my lips. Who knew dying makes you sigh a lot. I sure didn't.

'clap' 'clap' 'clap'

"Oh come on boy. Don't beat yourself up too bad. You looked good saving those little creatures."

I turned around to see a sharply dressed man in his early thirties with black hair and a big smile. A very big smile. How is that smile so damn big? He looks like the joker. He was standing in a hallway engulfed in flames and was completely at ease. He looked rather comfortable.

"Now if you're done checking me out let's get down to business." He raised an eyebrow at my direction. "Let's make a deal."

"Listen, man, my body over there is turning into char. I don't know who you are. But unless you know father time so that I can survive. I'm not making any deals with you. Whoever you are."

He held a hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion."How you wound me dear Jack. Don't you know words cut deep." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Deeper than any blade." his eyes were a deep blue but there was a light behind then that threw me. Who is this? Oh god. I really hope it isn't-

"Good on you for making that connection so quickly," He clapped. "Usually I have to introduce myself, and chase them down afterward. But yes I am the ultimate evil. The one. The only. The man from down under. The-"

Nah fam. I spun around and started running deeper into the burning building further away from him. No way am I talking to him. I turned a. Corner and crashed into something. I looked up to see a grinning face looking down at me with glee. He leaned down to look me in the eyes.

I could see the anger and the hate. The want for revenge and the madness. There was something else there. His grin somehow got wider.

"Well aren't we an excited one? I'm happy to now I'm getting famous all over again. But you know it is rude to interrupt someone during their introduction do you not?"

I stared dumbly at him. There is no way this is him right? I mean...it's _him._ Is he gonna condemn me? Imprison me in a land with no internet. Oh god, I can't use the internet anymore! I can't tell anyone to delete my browser history!

"Now if you're done overreacting to being a perverted ghost. I have an offer for you." I was brought out of my thoughts by a rough shake of my arm. "Yes boy, I am the Devil Lucifer, here to give you a second chance at life and redemption."

"Redemption?" I asked softly.

"Yes, you see I am a big fan of yours. It's rare to find a human who locks away all those sins I love to jerk around." He started to walk around me. All the while the building is burning brighter and collapsing. "There are rare few times I go out to make deals. Usually, I pay some attention to someone's life and put some lovely...distractions in their way."

I heard him stop behind me. I could feel him just standing a few inches away. He leaned forward slightly and whispered.

"Like your father."

I spun around to face him he was five feet away smirking. He continued "All that greed, lust, gluttony. Just made it all the easier to distract him. Especially his wrath."

Okay at this point I would punch his lights out. But it's the devil. I think he wants me to punch him. Give him the satisfaction of giving into my anger...my wrath.

"You know the strangest part is that children who lived in situations like yourself tend to be more messed up in their little heads. They lash out or turn to depression. But not you." He paused. He started to walk around me again. "How is it that after everything you've experienced you still seem fine?" He stopped ahead of me. His eyes grew wider and much brighter. He looked like the most terrifying light bulb ever.

"It's because you're not. You hide it oh so well from what remains of your family, the people you call friends. I was impressed my little DiCaprio."

His eyes started to dim back to what they were. He started walking towards me All the while the smile he had dropping with each footstep. He was at arm's length from me. With a hard expression on his face.

"The reason you could hide your emotions so well is the same reason you ran into this orphanage." He leaned forward slightly. "You completely stopped being human. You've locked away all those emotions all humans are born with."

I looked at my feet and started to take deep breaths. Do I even need to breathe? Yeah, it's calming me. I looked back to Lucifer who had a grim expression. He held his hand out.

"I want to give you a chance to be human again. To gain some redemption. You will no longer have to keep asking yourself 'what would a normal person do?' you will learn to be human again. All in exchange for a small favor."

I looked down at his hand I could see some old scars on his palms and fingertips. I looked at my own hands. I thought to what I had before I died. My family was splintered, I couldn't express any complicated emotion. I knew that before today I could never really love. My happiness was a facade to hide my loneliness. Even my friends knew nothing about what was going through my head. Worst of all was that even in deep sadness. I can't cry. I can't relieve myself of all of the sadness and grief life has thrown at me or my family. _If I could relearn how to be human again_... I clenched my fist and looked into the devil's glowing eyes. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

"What is this favor?" I asked.

"It's more like I'm getting rid of something and I'm passing the buck onto you. Now I am going to place a mark on you. It will help you where you're going. I'm going to bring you back to life with the mark on you. What happens next is up to you."

"This deal sounds _way too_ simple. What's the catch?"

"The catch is simply that as soon as you breathe again you will be placed in certain trials. You pass you move on. You fail and you die. Your soul doomed to wander this plane of existence due to the Mark." His grin was returning. "It will be much more fun with you there. Not one other person has shown what you have."

"Where exactly is _there?_ What do you mean?"

"Ah ah ah, spoilers young jack are things we must avoid." He said while waving his fingers in my face.

Call me selfish. But I really want to feel again. I looked around and the fire was almost burnt out. But it looked like there was only a matter of time before the rest of the building collapsed. I saw the floor was covered in debris and ash.

With another sigh. I took his hand and looked him in the eye. "I accept this deal and its conditions."

His smile completely took over his face. The back of my right hand started to burn. I looked at it and a mark was _branding_ itself into my skin. I fell to not my knees as my left hand started to burn as well. "Aaaaaaaagh! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" flames started to engulf both my hands steadily moving towards the rest of me. I could feel my flesh burning up. The tips of my fingers turned to bone quickly burning black. I looked up to see Lucifer gone and a swirling green vortex in his place. I could feel it pulling me in. Dragging me across the ash and debris. The vortex started to swirl faster and was getting smaller. The wind launched me through the vortex. The last thing I heard was a woman's voice.

"I wonder how long you will stay this whole before you are completely crushed." I closed my eyes and let the pain knock me out.


End file.
